The present invention generally relates to a shopping cart which is constructed to provide seats for at least two children arranged in a front to back relationship.
In the past, shopping carts have been provided which include a single baby seat, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,670 (Goldman); U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,344 (Young); U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,953 (Berger et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,227 (Davis); U.S. Pat. No. 2,970,845 (Thompson); U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,234 (Schray); U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,622 (Romero); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,782 (Mills).
For instance, the patent to Davis discloses a wheeled shopping cart with a nesting type seat having an article carrying basket with an end gate swingably supported along a rear end thereof. The child seat is collapsible and includes a hanging member which is pivotally supported by the end wall for movement about an axis parallel to the horizontal axis. The seat further includes bottom and back portions which are pivotally secured along one end of each to the hanging member for movement about a second axis parallel to the horizontal axis. An opposite end of the seat is engaged with a guide to limit the pivotal movement of the seat. The seat structure is easily collapsible and the rear end wall is pivotal upward to allow multiple carts to be combined.
The patent to Mills discloses a second type of shopping cart, also with, a baby seat. The cart of Mills includes a wheeled frame, a basket and a rear seat portion. The seat portion includes an upright rear wall having leg holes therethrough and a seat back upstanding from the rear seat portion. The basket is pivotally connected proximate the seat back and is rotated upward to interconnect multiple parts for storage.
The patent to Romero (incorporated herein by reference) discloses an alternative style shopping cart which includes a fixed rear seat mounted upon an upright support 11. A movable basket/receptacle forwardly projects from the seat and is hingedly mounted to the upright support. The basket rotates between a horizontal working position and a vertical storage position.
However, heretofore, these conventional shopping carts only offer seating for a single child. Thus, if a parent desired to shop with more than one child, the second child must either walk or ride within the basket. The former option was undesirable if the child is too small or disruptive. The latter option limited the amount of groceries which could be placed within the basket and proved quite unsafe as the child often fell out of the basket.
A need remains within the industry for an improved shopping cart. It is a primary object of the present invention to meet this need.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a shopping cart with safe seating for at least two children.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shopping cart with two seats, whereby both children ride while facing backward without unduly limiting the space within the basket for carrying groceries.
It is another object of the present invention to provide seating for a second child within the shopping cart without requiring the cart to be overly enlarged and still providing a collapsible cart for storage.
In summary, a shopping cart is provided with an undercarriage frame mounted upon wheels. The frame supports a basket and at least two seating sections for children. The seating sections are aligned such that both children, when seated, face backward and are positioned in line with one another. Each seating section is mounted upon an end wall, one of which is located at the rear of the cart and the second of which is located at an intermediate point along the cart proximate the rear end. Each seating section is formed with collapsible bottom and back members. When collapsed, the shopping cart affords a primary basket region and a secondary region located proximate the rearmost seat and serving the dual purpose of a leg area for the forwardmost child and a secondary area to store groceries. Both end walls are pivotally mounted to the basket and rotatable upward to allow multiple carts to be interconnected.